Entwaffnete Götter: Überlegungen zur Interpretation antiker Waffenweihungen

Abstract

The consecration of weapons in ancient sacred contexts was interpreted in different ways. But it was never taken into account that over time and across cultures arrows were understood as projectiles, used by deities to bring illness and death over people. According to the principle of similia similibus, verifiably since the 17^th century arrows played a central role in the worship of the Saint Sebastian and the defense against plague. The often observed structural similarity in votive practices of early modern and ancient times suggests interpreting individual finds in ancient rural sanctuaries as gratitude for the successful pray for integrity or recovery.